The use of stairlifts has become increasingly widespread in recent years as a means of overcoming problems of immobility associated with infirmity or old age which result in difficulties in climbing stairs. In larger buildings, such difficulties have long been overcome by the use of lifts or escalators but, until more recent times, no simple facilities were available which were useable in the smaller domestic environment. Consequently, the inability of certain personnel to climb or descend stairs in a safe manner without some form of assistance often proved to be a source of great inconvenience and handicap.
Therefore, stairlift devices have been developed which greatly simplify the task of ascending or descending stairs for the elderly and infirm. Generally, such devices comprise (a) load bearing means in the form of passenger carrying means, which generally comprises seating means, wherein a person is seated for the purpose of ascending or descending the stairs, but may simply comprise means for carrying a standing passenger, such as a platform or similar attachment, this being attached to (b) chassis means which movably interacts with (c) mounted guide means, typically in the form of a rail arrangement by which the device is attached to the stairs and floor, and which defines the distance and direction of travel of the passenger carrying means and chassis means, and (d) transporting means, which is operable to move the passenger carrying means along the guide means, and generally comprises driving means. Typically, in a simple arrangement, a chair would be mounted on a chassis, a rear attachment from which would be movably located in the mounted guide means, which would possibly be in the form of a guide rail affixed to the stairs, and the chair would be caused to ascend or descend the stairs by driving means such as an electric motor, which would propel the chair along the guide means in the desired direction.
Not surprisingly, stairlifts have been found to be of great benefit in the field of health care and mobility and have significantly improved the quality of life for many people. However, there is a large and growing market for these devices which has yet to be fully exploited. Several reasons for this relative failure have become apparent, one of these, of course, being the cost of supplying and fitting such a device.
One aspect of the fitting of stairlifts which contributes significantly to the cost is the requirement for bespoke products to be supplied for each individual circumstance. Thus, for example, in many residential buildings, a stairlift will travel along a substantially straight inclined rail, or a curved rail of fixed gradient from one level to another. However, it is also not uncommon for staircases to comprise two or more flights, often of different gradients and frequently with horizontal sections. This requires appropriate rail arrangements, often with horizontal sections, as corners are turned and level floor sections are negotiated. Indeed, a plethora of different fittings is required in order to cater for all requirements.
Thus, for a typical stairlift fitting, it is necessary that a surveyor should visit a location to measure the specific requirements, such that a CAD drawing can be produced and checked before a tailored design of rail is produced for fitting at the location. Clearly, this requirement incurs additional expense for the purchaser, which can provide a barrier to purchase. It is this issue that the present inventors have sought to address, by the provision of a modular guide rail system which facilitates the assembly of a stairlift for a specific location from a kit of parts comprising a plurality of individual sections of guide rails.